There are lots of recipes online that suggest mimicking commercial bread ovens by using a water bath and or ice cubes to create a hot, steamy baking environment. I have always been very wary of doing this with my domestic electric oven for a number of reasons, and only spray my french loaves on top with a very fine water mist. The risks, as I see them, are as follows:
- Potentially, any cooler water splashing on the hot glass oven door could cause it to shatter
- Any steam penetration could have an adverse affect on the live circuit boards or controls causing them to malfunction e.g. a partial or full short circuit
- The enamel coating and other parts of the oven itself etc. could be more liable to corrosion
Am I being too conservative here? I would think that if a domestic oven failed due to such usage, the manufacturer would refuse to repair it under a regular domestic warranty as the oven was not used according to the manual.